The Only Friend I Ever Had
by Mushed
Summary: May or may not follow canon - PreHogwarts. Harry is in primary school with his cousin Dudley, and his gang. Follow his mishaps, adventures, early loves, and perhaps even a little death.
1. Lonely Stranger

A/N: Hey, everyone! I've decided – I didn't like two of the stories, The Day the SunWent Down & A Broken Past,so I decided to write a story about Harry's life before Hogwarts in his primary years! ENJOY,

Curses and kisses,  
Mushugirl

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**The Only Friend I Ever Had**  
_Chapter 1: Lonely Stranger_

It would have seemed normal, would it have not? Privet Drive and the surrounding area was normal, at least to most of the citizens that led boring lives there. There were the people that had companies in the cities or had tiny clothing stores in the towns or even little sweet stores on the corners of streets. For some of the residents of Privet Drive, they had children. Where were the children to go for education when the parents worked? Why, a school of course! How silly of you …

One such school was just off the corner of Wisteria Walk, quite luckily to some of the people in Privet Drive such as one Mr. and Mrs. Dursley who had **_one_** son and no daughters. Mr. Dursley was a proud member of Grunnings' Drill Company who was working towards a promotion. Mrs. Dursley was a boney, tall woman who spent days working on perfect lawns and spoiling her child rotten. Much gossip was spread around about this perfect family and their perfect lifestyle and house. Only older residents, who had been there since the 1980's knew of the child-that-was-never-talked-about. This child went by the name of Harry Potter.

Harry Potter could be classified as a nerd. With his taped up glasses and baggy pants, he could _definitely _be passed off as a nerd. Everyone at his school teased him about anything they thought wrong of him. Dudley and his friends made sure that Harry had no friends and anyone found talking or associating with him wouldn't be going to school the next day. So Harry learned to live with it … he learned to live with the teasing, but sometimes it was too much …

* * *

Hey, this was just a beginning, a prologue. I'll get the next chapter up quickly!


	2. Harry's School

A/N: Here is the next chapter, or well, I should say ' Chapter 1' really … In this chapter, 6 year old Harry goes to school with his cousin and meets a new _friend_ …

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**The Only Friend I Ever Had  
**_Chapter 2: Harry's School_

"BOY!" shrieked Mrs. Dursley, known also as Aunt Petunia, from the kitchen. Within an instance, little Harry Potter bolted up from his bed, if you could call it that. All it really was, was a cupboard under the stairs. The cupboard under the stairs was a dirty little thing and all that poor Harry had to sleep on was a scratchy blanket and small pillow that had once belonged to his cousin, Dudley.

Harry threw back his tiny blanket and scrambled up to get changed – it was his turn to make breakfast today. Putting his baggy clothing on, Harry waited patiently for his aunt to unlock his 'room' and let him out. A few minutes later, Harry was dragged out and pushed into the kitchen where the food was waiting for him to cook it.

"I'll be right back, boy. I have to go wake up my Diddy Dunkins! Don't burn anything for his special 'Back to School' breakfast, now boy!" Aunt Petunia said as she slowly went up the stairs to wake Dudley and her husband, Uncle Vernon up. Just another day in Harry's world, really.

Breakfast that morning was rushed and even worse when Dudley decided Harry needed his hair cut. Smiling, Harry's Aunt Petunia had brought out a pair of handy scissors and cut most of Harry's hair off leaving it only about an inch and a half short – but of course, she left his bangs to 'hide that hideous scar'.

'Great …' Harry thought bitterly, '… now they can make fun of my glasses, clothes _and _hair …'

He felt like crying, he truly did. What made it worse was when his aunt decided he could walk the 10 minute drive to school in the rain. Placing his backpack on his back and making sure his glasses and peeling trainers were on properly, little Harry flew out the door, running down the street. It was already 8:07, and if he wanted to be on time, he had to make it by 8:25. Crossing the street and making his way to the school, he heard a car honk and turned around to see Dudley watching him with his piggy little watery-blue eyes and a huge grin as Aunt Petunia drove the car over a huge puddle, effectively spraying dirty water all over Harry.

Sputtering and spitting out dirty water, Harry managed to get up from the impact, when he heard the bell ring off in the distance. Knowing he was going to be late anyway, Harry slowly walked to the school and into his class, annoying his classmates in the process.

"Watch it, Potter!" One person yelled at Harry as he made his way to his desk.

"Hey look! It's a bald-y!" A popular boy, Jason, said tauntingly.

Harry felt the corners of his eyes sting before the teacher scolded everyone for bugging him. Harry took his second hand, patched up binder from his backpack and opened it up to a blank page where he began to write out his homework.

-

Halfway through the lesson, Harry was interrupted by Mrs. Gregory, the teacher who asked if, at lunch time, she could talk to him about his family life and parents. He slowly nodded his head in agreement and she smiled at him before she walked away to another student.

Silently, Harry began his worksheets and only stopped once when he was hit in the head by a paper airplane.

-

Harry had finished his work sheets a _long_ time ago, while most of the class still struggled at the first page of the all ten of them. Harry was just super bright, though he had probably learned most of it from books he had read as a child. Looking up at the fancy clock, it read 11:48 – lunch time was in less than 20 minutes. So Harry just waited and waited for it to ring. He was used to waiting, his cousin, uncle and aunt always made him wait, so he just sat there looking around the room waiting for the bell to ring.

Mrs. Gregory watched in fascination as Harry was the first one to finish the ten sheets – the boy was brilliant. The whole other half of the class was still only on page _five_ at the most, some even on only page one! Deciding to herself, Mrs. Gregory would be sending Harry a special permission form to go to a school for bright kids. Knowing his aunt and uncle, Dudley Dursleys' parents, she knew that the poor boy wouldn't be allowed – the Dursley's would probably find some way to get Harry and Dudley to switch places. But, she was still going to send the note and _that_ was final.

With being so absorbed in her thoughts, she hadn't noticed that the bell had rung and  
Harry was patiently waiting for her. Snapping out of her thoughts, she led Harry down the hallway.

* * *

I'll try and make the chapters longer and longer and longer, but still – it is hard! Poor Harry – I'm SO cruel, but it's part of the story!

MUSHU-GIRL


	3. Prepositions and an Old Friend

A/N: Okay – this story isn't new. I had posted it before, but took it down. Since I am probably going to be discontinuing S.S., I'll be starting up this one, along with Far from Home and maybe another one. Here … I won't keep you waiting, so here it is!

**EDIT:** Mrs. Gregory is not smitten with Harry! In this story, Harry will be paired with no one!

* * *

**The Only Friend I Ever Had  
**_Chapter 3: Prepositions and an Old Friend_

Harry, still waiting for Mrs. Gregory, silently packed up his second-hand binder, his falling-apart dictionary, and his stubby pencil that wouldn't last long. Gracefully, he put all of his belongings in his bag; being careful to make sure they didn't get more torn in the process. He looked up once again and waited patiently for the bell to ring.

-

'Ding … Ding … Ding!' The bell rang, but Harry sat still, waiting for Mrs. Gregory. Once Harry and Mrs. Gregory had made eye contact, she gestured to Harry to get up and follow her to her office in the staff-room. Most teachers had them, after-all. Slipping his torn backpack on his shoulders gently, Harry followed Mrs. Gregory down the hall. Dudley and his friends, who looked as if they were getting juice from the machine, when in reality, Harry knew they were vandalizing it, looked smug as Harry walked by with Mrs. Gregory. Smirking, one of Dudley's friends, Pier, Harry thought, smirked.

"Look! If it isn't little, scar-head bald-y!" Pier's said nastily, while Dudley's and his gang all laughed and ran out the doors of the school to avoid being caught by the teacher for vandalizing the school's property and for making fun of Harry.

Dabbing at his eyes, Harry lowered his head in sadness, anger and embarrassment.

"Harry?" Mrs. Gregory asked, as she lowered herself onto her knees in front of Harry. Even knowing his answer, she asked, "…Are you okay?"

Harry nodded his head to show her that, yes; he was okay, even though he wasn't. Wiping his eyes on his sleeve, Harry raised his head to look into Mrs. Gregory's eyes. He recognized the sympathy in her eyes, and before he knew it, she had hugged him. At first he had tensed, but then he had leaned into her arms, hugging her back. Strangely, he thought, was this what it would be like to have a family?

Before long, he let go and pulled away, while Mrs. Gregory gave him a small smile and grabbed his hand, leading him down to the staff-room.

-

As Harry had lowered his head, Mrs. Gregory had felt so much sympathy for him. In a home where nobody loved, or even liked him, it seemed, and always on his own, having to save up scraps of money so he could buy school supplies and new clothing, even though it was always second-hand.

Harry had just wiped his eyes on his sleeve, when Mrs.Gregory, being the young, sympathetic, 25-year-old, went onto her knees, lowering herself to his level.

"Harry" she had curiously, even knowing his answer, " … Are you okay?"

Harry had replied as he often did, he had nodded his head, 'Yes', and then proceeded to wipe his eyes on his sleeve. It was then that he had raised his head. She had looked into his eyes and the mystery that was Harry had amplified. Harry's bright emerald eyes were teary and slightly damp, as well as a little red around the rims. Feeling his pain, Mrs. Gregory, still on her knees, hugged the little boy to show him she cared. At first, she had been worried because his whole body had tensed up as if he had never been hugged before, which was probably true. Then, he had slackened and hugged her back energetically.

After a couple minutes, Mrs. Gregory had felt Harry pull back, so she let go of him and gave him a small smile, while offering her hand to him. Giving one of his rare grins, Harry, his eyes still red, had grabbed her hand as she led him into the staff-room.

-

To say that the occupants of the staff-room were surprised was a major understatement. There eyes had widened at the sight of Little Harry Potter holding hands with one of the most liked teachers in the school, Mrs. Gregory. Clutching Mrs. Gregory's hand tightly, Harry scurried behind her legs in embarrassment as his little cheeks turned slightly red. Many of the female teachers in the room 'Awww…'ed at the sight of the little seven-year-old turning eight when he had blushed. He was too cute for words!

His bright emerald eyes, clearly seen through his taped-up glasses, seemed to almost bring out the color and his raven colored hair was sticking up in all direction as if he had just woken up from a nap. Even though he was smaller than the rest of the grade two's, his height seemed to compliment him, even though it was probably from malnutrition.

Smiling, Mrs. Gregory pulled on his hand and led the blushing Harry out of the big staff-room and into her private office.

"Harry…" Mrs. Gregory began, "…Have a seat. I just need to write a letter to your guardians…"

That was another thing. Nobody of Privet Drive knew exactly why Harry was living with the Dursley's except the Dursley's themselves and Harry, who had told them his parents had died in a car crash.

Pulling out a nice, sharp blue pen, Mrs. Gregory began to write on a sheet of very good quality paper as Harry sat down in one of the comfy blue chairs. Five minutes later, Mrs. Gregory was still writing and Harry's stomach was starting to urge him to eat his small meal. Uncomfortable in the silence, Harry pulled his tattered backpack off his shoulders and put it on the floor, making it more comfortable on his back.

Looking up, Mrs. Gregory noted that Harry seemed uncomfortable, and, probably hungry.

"You know you can eat, right Harry?" she asked. Harry looked up from his shoe, his eyes widening. Had he been caught being hungry? Was Mrs. Gregory going to tell the Dursley's? Harry's eyes widened in fear.

"Harry? You can eat!" Mrs. Gregory ordered, knowing that might be the only way to get Harry to eat. Slowly, Harry calmed down and grabbed his backpack, looking for his meal. With one final look at Mrs. Gregory, who nodded, he grabbed a paper bag out of the backpack and then put the backpack on the floor.

Mrs. Gregory smiled and then asked, "Who made your lunch?"

Proudly, Harry replied, "I did! I usually have to make my own lunches."

"What did you put in your lunch?" she asked as Harry pulled out his usual faded green thermos.

"Oh … I … I have chicken noodle soup!" Harry said as he unscrewed the lid and pulled out what looked like a battered, used once too many times, plastic spoon.

"Do you … Do you ever use a metal spoon for your lunch?" Mrs. Gregory asked.

"I …I…" Harry stuttered, and then in a whisper, "…My … my Aunt Petunia thinks I'll wreck any of the metal spoons or forks, so she only lets me use plastic ones…"

Mrs. Gregory pursed her lips, making them thin, at the thought of all the abuse the poor boy had been through. She looked back at Harry, and saw he was looking away from her now, quietly and slowly eating his soup.

Mrs. Gregory lowered her head once more and continued to write the letter that Harry would be bringing home to his guardians in the afternoon.

-

Harry slowly ate his soup without a word as he watched Mrs. Gregory write her letter. What if he was in trouble? Harry gulped, but soon thought, Mrs. Gregory's nice – she wouldn't tell the Dursley's that … that I did whatever I did wrong. Finishing the last of his soup as Mrs. Gregory put down her pen and scanned over her letter, Harry put the lid on the container and slid it into his ratty, tattered backpack.

Sighing, he waited a couple of minutes until Mrs. Gregory was finished her letter. He watched as she sealed it, and then flipped it over and wrote, very clearly, 'Mr. & Mrs. Vernon Dursley' on the front. Harry watched as, with a soft smile, Mrs. Gregory handed the letter to him, which he then took great care to put it into his backpack without getting it dirty or torn.

"You've still got about twenty minutes of recess left, so, why don't you drop your backpack off in the classroom and go play outside?" Mrs. Gregory asked, as Harry put the backpack on his shoulders.

"A … O-okay…" Harry stuttered, knowing Dudley and his gang were probably just _dying _to see Harry to play there favourite game of 'Hit Harry'.

Mrs. Gregory gave him a small, sad smile and led him out of her office, out of the staff-room and down the hall, once again.

-

Grabbing his torn, second-hand jacket from the coat rack, Harry carefully placed his backpack on the hanger and then, fearing nothing more than Dudley, pushed the classroom door open slowly. Peering out behind his circular spectacles, Harry quickly, and quietly, went through the door, looking for Dudley.

If I can't see him, Harry thought, he can't see me!

But things are not always as they seem, are they? Making his way across the grass field, Harry spotted a large, brightly colored butterfly looming in the center of the parking lot. Fascinated, he made his way over to the butterfly, inspecting it. The butterfly, sensing movement, quickly picked up its large body and flew a short distance away.

With a small frown, eyeing the clouds distastefully, Harry followed the large butterfly, knowing he was going to get in trouble for going off school grounds. He edged closer to the butterfly, so close; in fact, he could almost touch it. He was now in the middle of the busy road, but, strangely, there was no traffic.

Harry felt his finger brush the edges of the butterfly, and he had almost got it on his hand when he heard shouts. Snapping out of his trance-like stage, Harry turned around at the voices.

"HARRY!** HARRY**!" Mr. Robert's shouted as he dashed out to get Harry off the road.

Grabbing Harry around the wrist, he pulled as a car came flying past, just missing Harry by inches. Breathing hard, both Harry and Mr. Robert's slowly walked walk into the schoolyard. Lowering his head, Harry felt his eyes sting once again, as Mr. Robert's grip on his wrist tightened and instead of walking, he was, more or less, being dragged. The shock of the situation was becoming overwhelming, and Harry hiccuped.

Stupid weather, Harry thought miserably, Stupid Life.

Harry was, once again, dragged to the office and put in a chair. Sitting in front of him, Mr. Robert's questioned him.

"What exactly were you doing out there? Trying to commit a suicide? That's a busy street, that is!"

"I … I was…" hiccup, "…I found … found a butterfly. It … It was running…" hiccup, "…away! I … I chased … chase … Didn't … see the c-car … c-coming."

"Well, that's no excuse, young man! Even if you didn't see the car coming, you should have known better than to _go off the school grounds_!" Mr. Robert's said, gripping Harry's wrists so hard that Harry let out a cry, as his tears came down his face.

"**THAT'S ENOUGH**!" Mrs. Gregory screeched as she heard Harry cry in fear. She knew just how timid Harry was and how, under pressure, could not perform the easiest tasks, such as walking.

Giving a glare, Mr. Robert's let go of Harry's wrists, leaving Mrs. Gregory to take care of the little 'brat'. Mr. Robert's had never really cared for the boy, after meeting those so-called parents of his six and a half going on seven years ago.

You see, Mr. Robert's was a dear old friend of Vernon Dursley, the boy's uncle. One day, while having tea, there had been a knock on the door, and, while the lovely, in his opinion, Petunia had gone and answered the door, he had stayed and chatted with Vernon.

Within a few seconds, a shriek had carried out through the house, scaring the Dursley's poor son, Dudley.

"Hello, my _dearest _Petunia!" Came a cheery, female voice from the door.

Frowning, Mr. Dursley had gotten up, gesturing for Mr. Roberts to stay where he was.

Walking, which was more of a waddle for the beefy Mr. Dursley, he soon came down the hallway. As he caught sight of the _guests_, he had screamed, "Bloody Murder, it's the Freaks!" before running, which was more of a faster walk, down to the Living room where Mr. Robert's was waiting.

Frozen, Petunia, face white, stood there, looking blankly ahead.

"My lovely Petunia, may we please come in? It's not the safest of things to be wandering the streets in a time of war as this…" The raven-haired, hazel-eyed man had said.

"…"

"Petunia," said the red-head, carefully maneuvering the little child in her arms to her right hip, "My husband James and I have … have a couple prepositions for you, your husband and your son. Can we please come in? Thank-you"

Pushing poor Petunia aside, the redhead and her _husband_ James something came into the house, hanging their coats on the coat hangers. Coming into the living room, the redhead immediately saw Mr. Roberts, and, rather quickly, introduced herself.

"Hello! You must be a friend of Vernon and Petunia's! My name is Lily Potter and this here is my husband, James and my son, Harry. It's a pleasure to meet you!" Lily said as she gave Harry to James and shook the man's hand.

"Ah … nice to meet you, too, Mrs.-"

"Potter."

"Yes – Mrs. Potter. I'm Mr. Roberts and I work in the schoolhouse by Wisteria Walk." Mr. Robert's said proudly, "What do you do as a job?"

Lily and the rag-a-muffin, also known as James, traded a glance, before Harry, sensing trouble, began to cry, "Bown … bown!"

"Down?" James asked, curiously, as his eyebrow lifted.

Giggling, Harry spread his arms out, as if he were a bird.

"Yus … yus!"

"Here you go, Bambi…" James had said, as he lowered to a crouch and, grinning, put Harry on the floor.

Smiling with only one tooth showing, Harry had half-crawled, half-walked over to Lily, before demanding, in baby talk, that she pick him up.

As Lily picked him up, James said sarcastically, "Oh – I feel special now…" before standing back up from his crouching position.

"So, Vernon, how has Dudley been doing?"

"Ah, the little tyke. He's been the best as always! Knows food from toys, now!" Mr. Dursley said proudly, even when Dudley, his chubby son, still ate toys instead of his baby mush.

Coming from the kitchen, teapot in hand, Petunia sat down by her husband as James sat down by Lily and Harry.

"T-tea?" Petunia asked, shakily, as she poured tea out for everyone.

"Thank-you, Petunia!" Lily said cheerfully.

"Pwease!" Harry asked innocently, make Lily and James grin and smile.

"No until you're older, Harry!" Lily had said, putting her teacup on the coffee table as Harry, who was pouting, sat in her lap.

Whispering, James picked up Harry, "What you've got to do, Bambi, is put on those big, puppy-dog eyes! She'll do anything for that. Good, just like that-"

"James!" Lily scolded, "Don't go giving him ideas!"

Turning Harry around so he faced everyone, James said innocently, "I didn't do _anything_, but look – isn't he cute!"

Harry's eyes seemed to have expanded to about three times the size, and his bottom lip was quivering. Lily couldn't resist, and she picked him up and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

"You're so cute, Harry! Even if you don't look like me. But, I'll bet you'll be just as smart as me and play _no_ pranks-"

"Hey! He has to play lots of pranks! Especially on the Slyther – I mean rivals." James said.

Mr. Robert's had given a suspicious look, but, Lily noting discomfort, starting talking about the real reason they were here.

"Petunia, I-I know we haven't always … always been the best of friends or sisters, but … but I'm here to ask you to put that aside. We … we both have sons now to worry about in the middle of … of _this_! I don't want our flaws, as sisters, to get in the way of the two boys' friendships. I can stand it if they don't like each other on their own free will, but I can't stand it if the reason they don't like each other because us, as their parents, don't like each other. So, please, for my sake, your sake and the children's sakes, can we _please_ put this grudge behind us?"

After Lily's speech, silence went throughout the entire room. Mr. Robert's, who didn't fully understand what was happening with the Potters, had no clue why the two sisters had a grudge in the first place. Vernon was the first to answer to Lily's speech.

"No – I … I will not have my son hanging about with … with freaks like you!" Lily eyes had widened and James had taken on a predatory look, glaring at Mr. Dursley, with his hand inside his pocket, as if looking for something.

"James, no." Lily said softly, taking James' arm out of his pocket.

"Fine, but next time-"

"James!" Lily had shouted, "The reason I'm doing this is because _there may be _**NO** next time!"

Once again, silence had gone through the room after Lily's statement.

"I-I think we should go…" Lily had said sadly, rubbing Harry on the back.

Standing up, Vernon had roared, "And stay out! We don't want freaks like you in our house any more!"

"Don't you dare talk to my wife, my son and I like that!" James had shouted, as the lights flickered on and off before finally exploding under James' stress.

"James! Come on – let's just go! There's no point in arguing!" Lily had said hurriedly, as Harry began to cry from all the noises erupting in the room.

"Fine." James had said angrily, grabbing his jacket from the hook violently, causing it to fall over, before he had stormed out of the house and onto the street to calm himself down.

"I'm really sorry, Petunia. I- I hadn't planned for it to go like this." Lily said as she picked up the coat hanger, grabbed her jacket, put the little crying Harry onto her shoulder and walked out the door to where her husband, James, was sitting in the autumn leaves.

That was the last time Mr. Robert's had ever seen the two parents and shortly after, about two weeks later, little Harry Potter, who he had first met with the parents, appeared mysteriously on the door of Vernon Dursley and Petunia Dursley. The two Dursley's had said that the Potter's had died from a car crash, but Mr. Robert's knew better. He knew that no car crash could've killed them like that, which reminded him – had the house electricity gone haywire? He'd have to ask Vernon.

Focussing back on the office, the now graying Mr. Robert's stomped out of the office away from the last, bawling Potter.

-

"Harry. Please calm down!" Mrs. Gregory said, patting Harry on the back in, what she hoped, a comforting way.

"S-sorry. I'll c-calm down." Harry said, letting go and wiping his eyes on his sleeve.

A few mere seconds later, the bell had rang, signaling for class to get back in session.

"Come on, Harry." Mrs. Gregory said, leading him back to the classroom.

-

Harry had entered right after Mrs. Gregory, walking to his backpack to get his binder out again. In the coatroom, as Harry had grabbed his pencil and binder, he turned around to be faced by Dudley and two of his friends; Piers and Tommy.

"L-leave me alone!" Harry said, pushing past them.

"What? Looking for the teacher?" Tommy asked nastily.

"N-no…" Harry had stuttered, telling them that he was, in fact, looking for the teacher.

"Yes, you were, weren't you cry baby? Well, guess what? Haha! She's gone and she'll be gone for five minutes!"

Harry gulped and dropped his things as Dudley and his gang surrounded him.

-

Five minutes came and went before Mrs. Gregory, who had forgotten her reading spectacles in her office, had come back into class. She saw everyone, including the little troublemaker Harry, sitting in their desks. Strangely, it was a little too quiet for the classroom.

"Class?" Everyone jumped and faced her – they hadn't even realized her?

"What happened? You're all so quiet!" Mrs. Gregory asked as many shrugged, while some, like Dudley and Piers, looked smug.

Suspiciously, Mrs. Gregory headed to the front of the classroom with her spectacles and picked up one of her favourite books, while the kids all went back to their work. Mrs. Gregory took one look at Harry, who didn't seem to be reading or working. Instead, he was trying to repair his binder, which looked like it had split.

After a couple of minutes, he seemed to give up on it and just closed it, while pulling a book out of his bag. 'Tales or Myths: Mermaids?' It read. Harry seemed rather interested in the idea that there was something else out there, such as 'magic' and 'Merlin'. Mrs. Gregory had seen him read all sorts of things on Camelot and fantasy things.

Noticing her stare, Harry quickly looked up from his book, curiously. As soon as he had looked up, however, she had turned back to her own book. Biting his lower lip, Harry had gone back to reading a fascinating paragraph about mermaids and what they looked like.

_Tales or Myths: Mermaids_

_Pg. 43_

_"**The Egyptian Mermaid**"_

_The Egyptian Mermaid has long been classified as a scaly, frightful creature. With long, 4 inch nails, cornrowed hair, scales that could cut your very body and pointy, razor sharp teeth, they have been discussed as the least common of all Mermaids. They have been known to sing long, haunting tunes that, many sailors say, haunt your memory for the rest of your life. Below is a picture of what one young man, who remained 'anonymous', believed that they looked like._

Inserted into the page of the book, Harry saw a ghastly figure, wearing only seaweed around its chest, scales shining in a very mysterious way. Of course, it didn't help that the picture was rather blurry, but, all the same, the picture was gruesome. Harry could even see a sort of rusty color floating in the water, which could only mean one thing: blood. Curiosity got the best of him, and before long, he was reading more about mermaids.

_Tales or Myths: Mermaids_

_Pg. 57_

"_**The Classical Mermaid**"_

_Many people have often thought of the classical mermaid as half human, half fish. For instance, in "The Little Mermaid", copyright Walt Disney, 'Ariel' was thought of as a classical mermaid. The Classical Mermaid, unlike the 'Egyptian Mermaid', pg.43, who has green skin, has a pale complexion with usually bright blue or emerald eyes. It is very rare to ever find a mermaid with brown eyes. Unlike the 'Genera Mermaids', pg. 238, who don't wear anything to cover themselves, the Classical Mermaids are very hygienic and will use anything such as stones, seaweed, shells and rocks to cover themselves from preying eyes._

Once again, as Harry finished page 57, pictures of the 'Classical Mermaid' were shown. Eyes widening, Harry saw that they were probably some of the most beautiful creatures he had ever seen. Even though most of the pictures were painting of the mermaids, some of them were highly depicted photographs of the magnificent creatures.

Looking up to see the time, Harry saw he only had another minute or so of reading. Sighing quietly, he closed his book and put it in his bag, waiting for the bell to ring. Within thirty seconds, Mrs. Gregory had got up and placed her book down. Turning to the chalkboard, she began to write.

-

Two hours later and Harry found himself packing all of his work, as well as the letter, safely in his backpack. Placing his jacket on his shoulders, Harry, being the last one out the door, said his 'good-byes' to Mrs. Gregory and opened the classroom door. He stepped out of the classroom and into the breezy, summer day, grinning for whatever reason.

It was a fifteen-minute walk 'home', but Harry didn't mind it. Skipping, Harry headed down the lane, watching kids on either sides of the street playing with their families and enjoying the rather breezy day. Sadly, Harry noted, he could've been one of those people. He stopped skipping in front of one of the houses were laughter could have been heard ringing throughout the entire neighborhood.

"That could've been me…" Harry whispered, then louder, "…That could've been me!"

Harry felt the tears fall down his fragile face as he watched all the kids with their mothers, their fathers, _their family_. The one thing he wanted so bad, but could never have. Crying to himself, he slowly walked down the street, ignoring all the disapproving looks the families sent at him.

* * *

(A/N: Whew! Long chapter! I can't always promise these, but since it's summer, I have all the time in the world … Not! I'm just trying to convince myself … Please tell me if the Lily and James part was okay! That's the only thing I'm worried about, it not making sense! Just ask me if you don't understand some of the story. I might tell you that it'll be in further chapters down the road! Okay: This might set the mood: 

_Songs I listened to while I wrote the chapter:_

**1. **Josh Groban – You Raise Me Up

**2. **Josh Groban – You're Song (Moulin Rouge)

**3. **Josh Groban – My Confession

**4. **Josh Groban – Oceano

**5. **Limp Bizkit – Behind Blue Eyes

**6. **Vanessa Carlton – White Houses

**7. **Liz Phair – Why Can't I

This is what I'm going to tell you all; what inspires me to write for you all! Yay – Inspiration time! Ok … I would love if you guys, in your reviews, would please send music recommendations!

And here, finally, are my Author reviews or whatever you call 'em!

**Angelbaby7sat – **My first review ever! I thank you for that! And … what do you know? Is this an update? Hmm …lol. I'm just being me.

**Acciodanrad9 **– Quote: "You have no idea how happy you have made me!" Maybe I do! I've been looking for ages for a story set before Hogwarts. I could never find one, so I decided to create one myself. Go me! Thank-you again! Funnily, I spent about an hour on the prologue… :P. Here's the next chapter! Ya – I know. I'm making the Dursley's mistreat Harry a lot. .:_ slaps hand for being cruel_:.

**Japanese-jew – **I should be usually doing 3 – 10+ pages, so they should never really be that short. I'm pretty sure this is going to be A.U., but I'm not going to change anything major, like Harry going into Hufflepuff, Ravenlclaw, Slytherin, etc. And I may change some of the events in his school year.

**Gatermage – **Thank-you! I think it's interesting, too! That's why I made it! Hehe…

So thanks again everyone who read, reviewed or did both! I enjoy it and don't forget those music recommendations! Woo! 8 pages with over six hours of work! You've got to love me! Kisses to everyone reading and reviewing!

**MUSHU-GIRL**

P.S. – Do you think I need a beta?)


	4. Never Good Enough

A/N: Pouts - I was really hoping I could get this chapter up on July 31st, Harry's Birthday. Maybe I can make the deadline, just … later. Hmm … It's only seven o'clock, here, and my parents are dragging me to go to the creepy, old, haunted bowling place. Gah … I really, _strongly_ **dislike** bowling. So guess what I'm going to do? I'm going to sit, not play bowling, mind you, and I'm going to brainstorm this chapter and maybe the next few chapters! Happy? Hehe … I'm hoping to get at least two, maybe even three chapters before I leave for vacation. I may ask one of my friends to update the story while I'm gone. Who knows? Shrugs - At least it's an update, right?

Mushu-Girl.

* * *

**The Only Friend I Ever Had**  
_Chapter 4: Never Good Enough_

Walking slowly home, Harry was deep in thought. What was this strange emotion he kept feeling in the pit of his stomach? Swallowing to keep his tears down, Harry walked down the rest of the street, blocking out all the sounds of playing, fun and laughing.

Making his way home, Harry twisted the brass handle and stepped into the front foyer, making sure to wipe his dirty feet. Walking down the small hallway, Harry came to a pause at the door to the living room. Inside, and rather noisily, the tele was giving a report about a stolen passport, or something rather, but Dudley had swapped the channel before Harry could hear the rest of it.

Turning to glare at him, Dudley snatched a cracker off the china plate and threw it at Harry as Harry dodged behind the door. Not wanting to get in more trouble, Harry went to his small cupboard and placed his backpack in the far corner, carefully, so that it wouldn't rip any more than it was. He'd have to ask Aunt Petunia for a new backpack from the second-hand store.

Harry was very used to second-hand stuff, you see. Ever since he had been a baby, or well as far as he could remember back, he had always had something someone else's old bottle, old clothes, old everything. Except for his necessities, of course. He'd always get a new toothbrush and diapers!

Changing out of his grimy clothing inside the cupboard, Harry changed into smaller clothes that he had bought with saved up money from Mrs. Figg, the kindly, cat-loving neighbor a street or so away.

"Boy! Get out here this instant!" Aunt Petunia had shrieked at Harry.

This was going to be a long afternoon, Harry thought as he quietly came out of his cupboard and prepared to do the laundry.

-

Some days he just felt like Cinderella. Between laundry, cooking, cleaning, scrubbing and all those other tedious jobs, like gardening, were the worst. He didn't mind the dusting, the vacuuming or the watering the gardens much, because it always gave him the excuse to _accidentally_ either get dust all over Dudley, vacuum his clothing or get him all soaked. If he did, though, even if it was _accidentally_, he'd get punished and placed in his cupboard. Oh well – as long as Dudley was furious, he'd spend a week in his cupboard! After all, he still had to go to school, so it wasn't that much of a loss.

Sighing, Harry decided to get back to work on his third chore; ripping out the evil weeds of the Backyard of Doom.

-

It was now Wednesday; the day after Harry had followed the butterfly and almost got hit by the fast moving car. Sleeping silently in his cupboard while his relatives, if you could call them that, snored above, Harry awoke to a ringing noise in his head. Curious, Harry opened his eyes and welcomed in his dark surroundings. Looking through the cupboard, the ringing becoming almost abusive to his ears, Harry couldn't find the hiding spot of the noise. Wrinkling his nose, Harry quietly opened his cupboard and looked out into the kitchen. Harry squinted as he read the rather ugly clock on the wall.

'Just after four in the morning,' Harry thought bitterly, '… Aunt Petunia's not going to be happy.'

Willing himself back to sleep, Harry closed the cupboard door and gathered his blankets around him with a sigh.

-

Waking up in the morning had never been one of Harry's strong suites. Therfore, when he had, for no reason, woken up at four in the morning and then had fallen back asleep, he couldn't be bothered to wake up again. Aunt Petunia, who had been _snarling_ that morning, had continuously hit the cupboard door until it was sure to break. Eyes narrowing, she had grabbed the handle and flung open the cupboard door, only to find that Harry was still asleep.

Thinking murderous thoughts to herself, she had grabbed Harry and dragged him out of his cupboard. Unresponsive, Harry had not noticed anything out of the ordinary except for the red and black haired people in his dream. Smiling at them, he had given a mental, or what he thought was a mental, wave at them. Too suddenly, reality came crashing towards him as Aunt Petunia had carelessly dropped him and hit his _waving_ hand with a frying pan.

Yelping, Harry had scrambled up, his eyes wide. Glaring, Aunt Petunia had chucked the pan at him, telling him he had to make breakfast otherwise he'd be in _big_ trouble. As if he wasn't in big trouble always?

Setting the top boiler onto the proper heat, Harry had made eggs, bacon, hash-browns and toast before Aunt Petunia had called her dear 'Diddy-ums' for breakfast. Rolling his eyes, Harry served himself a small helping, sat at the table and began to eat his portion.

Today was going to be a good day. The sun was out, the birds were singing and _Harry wasn't going to be late for class_! He had made sure that he was going to be ten minutes early, today. Walking down the now quiet neighborhood walkway, Harry breathed in deeply and exhaled. Smiling, he began to skip and sing, coming into twirls. Arriving at the school and noticing he was the first one there, he grinned and dropped his backpack off by the door. Harry had decided he needed some fun and, after all, the swings were a great thing for amusement!

* * *

Songs I Listened To: 

"MEMORIES" – Within Temptation, "DELIVER ME" – Sarah Brightman, "I'LL TRY" – Jonatha Brooke, "BEHIND THESE HAZEL EYES" – Kelly Clarkson, "SUPERMAN" – Five for Fighting (?), "PRECIOUS ILLUSIONS" – (Not really sure who it's by) and "WAKE ME UP WHEN SEPTEMBER ENDS" – Green Day.

And there you have it! I'm SO, SO, SO! Sorry about the lateness of this chapter. I was hoping to get it up on Harry's birthday … Anyway, I've been really busy, so I haven't had much time for this story, but it will not be deleted! The chapters will just be slow!

-

**Japanese-Jew **– Who is the friend? Umm … That's a good question. See, I never really changed the chapter name when I did the chapter, but I left out a confusing plot line that I'm going to add later. I might as well tell you what it is. The car that was going to be 'hitting' Harry was going to be driven by Remus, but I thought I didn't have enough of the story 'guide-lines', so I don't want to add another branch to the plot 'tree'. Thanks for reviewing!

**Dementedtearz** - Aww! I didn't mean to make your eyes get misty! When I was re-reading the chapter, I was like that too! Here's the update! Thanks for reviewing!

HPnLOTRrox – First off, I'd like to say: LONG REVIEW! Wow! Yes, it is a sad fic and I think that's why I'm struggling with it. It can make you very … depressed, maybe? Just thinking that someone out there might actually be living like that! I love pre-Hogwarts fics as well! That's why I chose to do one. I can never find any! I may bring Sirius in, later of course, but I was going to bring in Remus last chapter and I realized it was WAY too early! Hmm … that makes me think about how many chapter I'll do. I want to make his age go to 11, and right now I'm on seven and a half, I think. Then I think I'll do a sequel with a sort of 'Primary Reunion' when everyone's 18. Thank-you for all your music suggestions! I've been using them! Here's the update! Thank-you for reviewing! 

**ERMonkeyBurnerofCookies** – I know! I grieve with you! Thanks for the review!

**Pandasruletheworld** – Yes! Poor Harry! Hmm … I had forgotten all about those wizards who greeted him! Thanks for reminding me! I think I need to read PS/SS again! Thanks for your comments and your review!

**Glitterwings** – Hehe! Thanks! Here's the update! Thanks for reviewing!

**FroBoy** – Thanks! Lots of people say I don't need a beta anymore, but if you look at my previous writings, you can tell I've changed my writing style, a lot! Also, I hate it when authors write notes in little parts of the sections! I used to do that and now whenever I see it done, I always get frustrated! Thanks for your review and here's the update!

See you all later!

Mushu-Girl


	5. London Zoo

A/N: I'm really sorry about the wait, guys.

Edit: Oh my … I had totally forgot about this story! --() Crap. Anyway … this is chapter 5. Hope you guys, if you are still reading, enjoy this! Sorry again! (2 Whole years! Oo Make that three years now.)

Disclaimer: Well, I don't own this otherwise I'd be sitting on my pile of riches, living in Finland, and I'd obviously not be writing fan-fiction for my own story.

* * *

**The Only Friend I Ever Had**  
_Chapter 5: London Zoo_

Thinking was a good thing, Harry decided. If it meant that he'd get some quiet and peace for once in his life, he was quite right. Snuggling into the swing a little more, so it was comfortable against his body, Harry rocked his legs, making the swing sway back and forth in slow intervals. Harry sighed contently to himself before closing his eyes, leaning back, and imagining that he was flying on a motorcycle as he went higher and higher, faster and faster.

As the swing came downwards, Harry opened his eyes, watching the landscape. He was distracted, though, by a soft giggle that rang in his ears. He ground his feet into the gravel, coming to a halt of dust, before turning left and right to find the source of the annoying giggle. Looking behind him suspiciously, Harry heard a snort of inheld laughter and scrunched his nose in distaste. He turned back around in his swing, but yelped as the face of a little girl swam into view.

Eyeing her with aversion, Harry turned his head away, ignoring her, before pushing off on the swing again. She giggled again.

Harry turned his head back to face the _annoying_ little girl, but as soon as she was in his vision, the little girl leant forward and smacked her lips to his cheek. Squeaking, he pushed himself backwards, toppling over the swing and crawling backwards. Framed by the plastic swing seat, he saw the girl blink her eyes very fast before turning and running away, probably to the other side of the park.

Harry stared after her in morbid curiosity. Sniffling, he put his hand to his cheek and then pulled away.

_Eww … I have _cooties_! That is how you get cooties, right?_ Harry thought, as he carefully edged his way across the playground to be nearer to the classroom.

--

After what he remembered as "The-Day-He-First-Got-Really-_Really_-Bad-Cooties", Harry was seemingly very nervous around girls. He'd have the odd crush here and there, but _still_, that couldn't change the fact that girls _always_ were going to have cooties. Well, maybe always.

Four days after the little _girl_ had seemingly molested him, or so he thought, he was once again on the playground, near the swings. This time, though, it was not before or after school; it was recess, when all the other children were around. Watching them with faded, yet bright emerald green eyes, Harry cautiously looked at the group of girls moving steadily closer to his favourite set of swings. Harry wrapped his arms around the swing in an effort to look casual, humming ever so slightly. There was one girl, though, that caught Harry's eye as he looked over at the group of them. She had dark, almost black, hair that was straight and braided down to the middle of her back. She turned in his direction and gave him a small smile. He barely could return it, wondering why they had chosen to come over here. Nobody ever came over here when he was here. Leaving her group, the young Asian girl came up to him, sitting on the swing not beside him, but still close enough to talk.

"You cute for little boy. What your name?" She asked, looking over at Harry.

Harry looked towards her, confused as to why she had come over to talk to him.

"I am Anna Mae," She said introducing herself, "I think I am in what you call Year 6 level. What are you?"

"You shouldn't be talking to me." said Harry, lowering his head.

"Why not?"

"Because, you can't. It's just –"

"What your name? Let be us friends." Anna Mae said truthfully. Harry looked up slowly and smiled, "I'm… I'm Harry."

"Harry? Like hairy leg?"

Harry snorted, "I suppose so."

Anna Mae and Harry exchanged a few more questions and answers with Dudley and his small group of cowardly supporters glancing at them occasionally. He was not as subtle as he always thought he was. The grainy bell rang for class to begin, and Anna Mae jumped up from the swings in a hurry.

"I see you later, Harry. Bye-bye!"

"Mm, … bye!" said Harry, as he too climbed from the swings.

Smiling again, Anna Mae turned her back to Harry as she started to run off to her classroom.

"Wait!" Harry yelled.

Anna Mae turned to face Harry as he run up to her. Plucking up his courage, he lightly pecked her on the cheek.

"Thank-you for talking to me," He said, before sprinting all the way to Mrs. Gregory's class just in time for arithmancy.

--

Solving his math equations, one at a time, Harry couldn't get Anna Mae out of his head. Mrs. Gregory seemed to notice his that he wasn't as timid and on alert as usual.

"Harry?" questioned Mrs. Gregory.

"Hmm?" Harry said quietly.

"Please finish _all_ your questions on your paper."

"Yes, ma'am."

Mrs. Gregory's eyebrows scrunched up a little.

As he looked down at his math questions, they seemed rather blurry to him. Taking off his glasses, he swiped them clean with his t-shirt and then looked at the questions.

_Here we go…_ He thought as he picked up his pencil and scribbled his answers on the paper.

With twenty minutes left to do the math questions, Harry slowed and checked over his answers, already done his test, even with the thought of Anna Mae in mind. Raising his hand in the air before Mrs. Gregory, Harry gave her the test quickly before slumping in his seat, cradling his head in his hands as he looked on the chalkboard.

Not too soon after, the rest of the class had finished the math test, deliberately delaying it as long as possible so they would not have to do any more work until tomorrow. Harry couldn't have cared less.

"Students, if you'll pardon my temporary forgetfulness, I'd have liked to mention this to you a few days ago. On June twelfth, and _yes_, Benjamin, that is in six days from now-"

"And how many hours?"

"Lots of hours; much too many to count at the moment. Now, if you'll let me continue, Mr. Morgan," Mrs. Gregory cleared her throat, "Six days from now we'll be going on a trip to the London Zoo in an effort to put your science classes into effect."

There were gasps of excitement and small chitters of chat among the students, whispering eagerly to each other.

"_Class_! Please calm yourselves down to a respectable volume."

The students looked forward again, the front row of desks most vivid and attentive.

"I have permission forms for your parents-" She glanced at Harry, "- or legal guardians, to sign. They are of the utmost importance, so if you do not return them you will not be joining the class in this special trip."

The buzzing alarm of the bell went off, cutting Mrs. Gregory's words into drowning hackles of reminders of a fun, yet _educational_ trip. How the students would love to follow their teacher around like lost sheep.

--

The next day of school passed, which was a Friday, and Saturday had passed just as easily. Sunday was gardening day for Harry and Aunt Petunia had decided to join him, albeit she was standing under the cover of the roof. Fat raindrops had found their way down Harry's glasses, and the pitter-pattering on the pavement was a constant reminder that he had only successfully pulled two weeds out of the garden; the grey lump of Dudley's old t-shirt had soaken under the furious precipitation.

Harry wiped the back of his hand across his forehead in an attempt to get the wet locks out of his eyes and glasses. All he had managed so far was a thick and dark smudge running down the right-hand side of his face, pooling around his lips. Without thinking, he pushed he tongue out, moistening his rained lips. The dirt crunched along his teeth, causing him to inhale abruptly in a jolt.

"What are you doing, boy?" Aunt Petunia called.

"I got dirt in my mo-"

"Get back to work, and _quickly_ before those Asters and Anthuriums are ruined! Like I taught you – grasp the weeds firmly at the base and tug a little to loosen them up. Then twist and pull up in a forthright manner!"

Harry grasped the bottoms of one of the plants; he wasn't exactly sure which plant this was, but Aunt Petunia had pointed at it, so it must be a weed. Firmly he began wedging it out of the soil, only to hear a shriek from the corner of the house where Aunt Petunia was standing.

"You foolish boy! HOW DARE YOU? You just pulled out a Queen Anne's Lace – you _foolish_ boy!"

Harry looked towards the house where the roof overlapped the patio and left a dry area. Aunt Petunia's hazy form was there, pacing in small circles, hands crossed and shaking. She looked like she wanted to come over, slap Harry around the cheeks and head, before yelling at him to return to his cupboard. He was almost thankful for the rain now, as the only thing it could hurt him with was it's furious downpour.

--

After pulling out two more weeds, Aunt Petunia had become furious enough with his handiwork to yell out at him to come inside. He had slowly stopped his work and turned to face his aunt. The light reflecting from the kitchen onto her face cast strange shadows and contusions. Aunt Petunia looked awfully mad at such a trivial thing. He had, after all, scooped and replanted the Queen plant. Slowly, he got up, grabbing the tools GIVE TOOLS NAMES and stepped towards her. As soon as he came to a halt in front of her, she grabbed his wet collar with a disgusted grunt, and had heaved him through the door and into the kitchen.

"Don't step anywhere _near_ my carpets right now, you filthy boy. I won't have you mucking them up with your mag-ma-" Aunt Petunia faltered in her words, stumbling on the last one. Harry could have sworn she was about to say the _bad_ word, "Don't … make a mess, boy."

Aunt Petunia left and Harry, fearing her wrath, stayed as still as possible, only moving to put the wet tools on the counter for his aunt.

When Aunt Petunia had come back, she had a set of dry – rather grey, like usual – clothes for Harry. He reached for them, intending to go back to his cupboard to change.

"No! You'll change right here where it won't matter if you dribble the slightest amount of water and mud. After all, I will not have you stepping even _near_ the carpet by your cupboard; we just had it cleaned two days ago, remember?"

Harry nodded. Suspiciously, as if weighing the options of Harry getting the clothes and running to his cupboard, and Harry getting the clothes and changing in the kitchen (where he would have to clean the tiles afterwards ) she handed him the plain t-shirt and pants.

"You change in here," Aunt Petunia reminded him, "And _only_ here when you're wet and disgusting."

As if realising just how dirty he indeed was, Harry asked, "Could I-…May I take a bath, Aunt Petunia? After I have dried myself, of course."

She looked him up and down, "I suppose so, as long as you're quick and you don't drag that filth across my clean carpets.

"Yes Aunt Petunia."

--

The sun had set about an hour and thirty minutes ago, Harry's glow-in-the-dark clock said. It couldn't really tell when the sun set, but Harry remembered the time it had almost disappeared beyond sight. The cupboard was cramped; Aunt Petunia had decided she didn't like the big chest she kept in the living room, so it had been transferred into Harry's bedroom. He liked to think it was a secret treasure chest, filled with rubies and golden coins and monkeys!

Harry grabbed the rectangular wool blanket from its usual corner and wrapped it tightly around his narrow shoulders. His stomach grumbled once, reminding him that he hadn't eaten dinner again tonight. It was too bad that Aunt Petunia had bolted him in here, otherwise he could've snuck out and grabbed a piece of bread and a little butter from the tray to sate his tummy.

Harry curled into a small ball, his back facing the door, before wrapping the warm wool blanket around his body as best as he could. In a few days he would be at the zoo! Maybe they had a piece of the zoo that was set aside for petting animals as well; he'd be staying there the whole time, petting the donkeys, and the rabbits, and perhaps he'd even try to catch one of the birds so he could pet it too.

That night, Harry fell asleep with the thoughts of zoos, animals, and a warm happiness above his belly that he hadn't had in a long time.

* * *

I can't promise I'll have another chapter out, but I'll try. I actually had fun writing this – it wasn't as much of a chore as I thought it was going to be. I have an idea where I want this to head in now, so let's hope A) it's not another three years and B) I don't forget. I might start editing earlier chapters as well to get them up to a better quality and standard. Thanks for reading guys!

On another note, I had a poll or something for Slash/no slash? The majority said no slash, which I can understand because it squicks some people, but I'm going to change it up a little. I'm not going to tell anyone whether it's going to be Harry/Girl, Harry/Boy, or Harry/MultiPeople or Harry/Noone. How does that sound? :P (Regarding earlier things I said for this story: don't believe any of it! LOL)

Any new music for me, guys? :)


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